Google Posts to Give Public Figures, Organizations A Podium in Search Results

Google is trying out a new social media-like experiment in its search results. We all know how the whole Google+ thing has gone, and now it looks as though the company is trying a new, different approach.

It's called Google Posts, and for now it's only available to U.S. presidential candidates. However, in time, Google intends to open the feature up to other prominent figures and organizations. If it ever goes beyond that remains to be seen. Figures and organizations join the waitlist right now though.

The application is simple. It simply asks for name, email, and "additional notes".

"Every day millions of people search on Google, many of whom are looking for information about the upcoming presidential elections," Google says. "Now there's a way for users to hear directly from the candidates they're searching for in real time on Google."

"US presidential candidates can now communicate with text, images and videos directly on Google," it adds. "Creating content is fast and simple, and once published, posts will appear instantly in search results related to the candidate. Each post can also be shared on popular social networks, amplifying the message even further."

It will be interesting to see where Google goes with this. It's also interesting that they're doing this now that they have access to Twitter's firehose for real-time tweets.